Lincolnshire’s Sprague students raise top amount among schools for diabetes
By Michael Sean Comerford Contributor May 3, 2011 5:52PM
Kindergartners at Laura B. Sprague School walk three miles on Friday to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. | Photos by Ruthie Hauge ~ Sun-Times Media
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Updated: June 6, 2011 2:55PM
Hanna Lui is just 8 years old, but she’s very concerned about diabetes and about Bears Quarterback Jay Cutler.
“He had to give up Reeses Peanut Butter Cups,” said Lui, who raised $2,500 for the American Diabetes Association during the spring fund-raising drive at the Laura B. Sprague School in Lincolnshire.
A diabetes sufferer, Jay Cutler was just one of the inspirations for the kids of Sprague’s pre-kindergarten to second-grade students as they collected the highest amount among elementary schools in the Chicago area for diabetes, with more than $36,000 in donations.
It was a record year for Sprague, making it one of the top five fund-raising schools in the country, according to the association.
“It’s due to the extraordinary staff and parents and students they have here,” said Ashley Oakes, a representative of the association.
The average donation is about $3,500 per school, according to the Diabetes Association, and about 80 schools in the area participate. Last year the Chicago office raised $3 million total, about $235,000 from schools. Nationally, it raised $33 million for research last year.
Because of the Bears connection, soon-to-be Bears Chairman George McCaskey was the honored guest at the school’s 3.2 mile Walk for Diabetes, last Friday. The Jay Cutler Foundation and the Bears Care program raise money every year for diabetes, McCaskey pointed out.
“It is great to see the enthusiasm they have here for raising money for diabetes, which can be an early childhood disease,” said McCaskey, who helped hand out awards to the school’s top fund raising students.
After the run, more than 470 kids sat on the gymnasium floor and cheered as the names of the top fund raisers were read.
Students listened as they were read the statistics on diabetes, including that one out of four children have diabetes and by 2050 that will rise to one in three.
“Many of the children here have some connection to someone with diabetes,” said Beth Hjelm, a teacher at Sprague.
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